February 2015 issue of The AVMA Advocate

Hot News:

On Feb. 10, we were pleased to see the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) Enhancement Act (S. 440) get reintroduced in the U.S. Senate. This bill, which the AVMA has lobbied hard for over the last six years, is critical for ensuring that all of America’s rural communities get access to the veterinary care they desperately need.

In last month’s issue of The Advocate, we reported that Congress has until Feb. 27 to pass a budget for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Now, our leaders in Congress are scrambling to agree on the future for this agency before its current funding expires.

In response to a front page article in the New York Times about alleged animal abuses at a federal research facility in Clay Center, Neb., Congress introduced a bill this month that will change how farm animals are cared for in agricultural research.

The 2015 AVMA Student Legislative Day is rapidly approaching, and veterinary students from across the country are preparing to storm Capitol Hill to tell Congress about the issues facing the profession.

Other News:

What’s Trending:

Facebook: There’s been a lot of media attention to the anti-vaccination movement, particularly its role in the ongoing measles outbreak in the U.S. Yes, measles – a disease that was virtually eradicated more than a decade ago, but is showing a resurgence. Over the past few years, veterinarians have been noticing an uptick in the number of pets that are not being vaccinated, due to similar anti-vaccination ideology. MORE>